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THE REFLECTOR.
L. I.
MILLEDGEVILLE, G. TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 1618.
LITERARY!
tters from the south.
lemon or juhx 6vll and rkothir Jonathan.
originality of thought—the brilliant
ccnco of genius, flowing and happy
ion, but above all the correct, liberal,
uly national opinions of this writer,
ained upon our affections and deserve
He has talents fitted to vindicate
eraiw faineofour country, and reading
extensively than usually belongs to
who rely upon the powers of a fertile
nation in works of litis nature,
te can bring the exuberance of his fancy
strict control—if lie can prosecute his
<r researches of study and enquiry with
me happy success as he manifests in
'sition, we may regard him as the fu-
pridc of our literature, a support to
me.
fixing his attention upon domestic in-
h, lie has wisely chosen the most pro
phcrc of his utility, and by directing
'guuicut to matters that come home to
man’s bosom and business, lie is the
likely to be attended to. Blending in-
ion with amusement, is to dignify the
of letters, and to confer upon it
list value, deprived of which, wit has
harms and eloqucnco is unmoving,—
I ct jucunda ct idonca dicere vita;,
orate, in more than one place, has a-
ded the summit of his praise to those
mingle the utile with the dulce, and us
es to himself more than common merit
encouraging at his parties conversation
a rational kind, instead of gossip aboui
ghbors and neighbors’ concerns—matters,
observes,thnt do not properly belong to us.
*he author has much merit for his clas-
al allusions, which will always find ad-
rers. Wc would recommend ancient litc-
ure to his frequent recurrence, as the
ndatioU of a just taste, rather than per-
xing himself about the opinion of modem
tics or ephemeral prototypes, equally nn-
erving his notice. Addressing himself
an American public, lie lias no need of a
eign copy, without which Ire lias ability
ugh to be independent and respectable
satisfactory to observe, that all the pro-
-tions of this writer breathe the same ge
ne spirit, and wo recognise in this, the
ic character that heretofore marked him
a pure unadiiltcrcd native genius. It is
norablo to the public that they have pass-
a favorable judgment upon them. Indeed
works of the day appeal ntOro directly
the best feelings we possess. For our pari,
could give the best excuse imaginable, if
dined to depart from the confines of truth
rthe purpose of overpraising any Work,
c mean, an entire coincidence of opinion,
ith flic author upon many of the subjects
lias considered in the course of his pere-
inations. His decided patriotism, his pow-
'ui national sentiment, and thorough ron-
mpt for little local prejudices—the high
mantic opinion of his country that pre-
ils throughout, must gain the approbation
all good citizens, and wifi probably make,
any friends in every state where his letters
all reach.
The following will justify praise from cve-
rcadcr:
* 1 have takefi up an odd notion, that the
coptc of the United States constitute one
rcat nation ; that whether a man be born
ast, west, north, or south* provided
c is born within the limits rtf our country,
c his still an American.
‘ It is much to he wished that the people of
e various divisions of the United States
ere a little more acquainted with each oth-
r, for, I am satisfied, they would like one
hothcr the better for it. At present, like
tenants of one of those amazing high
ouses in Edinburgh, that accommodate se-
eral families, though living, as it were, un-
er the same roof, they have scarcely a
peaking acquaintance. The impressions,
hicli they long since took up on trust, with
spect to each other, from ignorant or slo-
-tclling travellers, interested in deceiving
sporting with their credulity ; the stories
f horscracing, drinking and gouging, on
ne hand, and of tricking and witch-burning
n the other; that have passed current for a
chtury or more* are still received as pic-
ure8 of existing manners, though, even at
ny time, they were of rare occurrence, and
cry many of these practices arc altogether
xtinct. The changes which succeed each
ther, in this camelioh country, more rapidly
han in any other part of the world, have,
t would seem, passed unmarked and unre-
orded, while the good people still continue
believe and tremble. The impressions of
lie natives herii with respect to those of the
astward, are still tinctured with the remem-
erancc of witch-burnings ; and not a pious
ame in our northern parts, that would not
ompound fur her son coming bark with one
ycleft, from an excursion into the back
parts of the southern states.
1 Such foolish prejudices arc worthy of ho
nest John Bull, who, from time immemorial
has believed that bis neighbors, the French,
Oat frogs, and are destitute of religion, ns
well as of every manly and womanly virtue.
But our people, who all read, and write* and
think* and reason—some right—others
wrortg, ought to be ashamed of themselves,
to believe so badly of their friends and neigh
bors. It is a foolish absurdity, even the pro
duct Of national folly, or national antipa
thy, to assert, that cotemporary and neigh
boring people, having the same lights of re
ligion, living under similar laws, and en
joying, equally, the advantages of education,
should he so essentially different in morals.
They may (litter, it is true, in manners ; but
there is no pliilosoliical reason for tliejr ex
hibiting a contrast of m ,rals, or that one
should be so much wiser or better than the o-
ther. I believe, if we place them fairly in
comparison, with no interest to allure us a-
strav, and no antipathies t» tempt us from
the truth, we shall find that an inf riority
in one point will ho met by a superiority iii
another ; that, though they may diUor in
various respects, there is no general dispa
rity ; and that, on the whole* the scale re
mains equally balanced,’
Wlien .vo examine an American literary
production, the first thing wetrtok to is,
whether the author hits adopted an English
fashionable model or not: if lie has, we then
hasten to find whether lie has drawn his cha
racters, views and opinions from the sanr
source ; and we confess that our good opin
ion of him is not improved if we discover
that lie has. Our best efforts in the literary
walk are due to our own country, and w
consider it a breach of duty to tiic republic
of letters in' America, to assist by servile
conformity, the taste of every thing foreign
in literature, now prevailing. The most ap
parent consequence of such a taste, is a state
of colonization of intellect, and the critical
opinions of the once mother country, are hv
some, deemed binding upon us in all cases
wnatsocycr. It exposes us to misrepresen
tation, and is taken abroad as an undeniable
proof that we Want both talents and patriot-
— though at file same time, if we deny
the tact, it would puzzle almost any one of
us to give a good reason, why two foreign
reviews are always called upon to govern us
■ a matters of a literary nature. The notice
of new publications in our great cities, con
tains uniform opinions of every work, ex
tracted lrom tiie Edinburgh or Quarterly
Review. It may be said ni defence of this*
that it is exceedingly convenient, and saves
the Americans the trouble of thinking, and
thatweougut to he nr.ich obliged to Mr.
Gilford or any oody else, that would take so
disagreeable and perplexing a matter off our
lianils. To bojust, we seem to admit that
ilie tiling is reasonable enough, for whenever
Mr. Gilford sends us a certificate that a book
is to be read with safety, we give our perus
al perfectly satisfied ; and it is not a little
amusing to hear how exactly in unision the
public expression and the English and Scotch
reviewers are, with regard to matters of a
critical nature. An awkward state of feel
ing sometimes may arise, however, as in the
instance of a work, such as the one now be
fore us. The Edinburgh lately has looked
pleasantly enough* on American productions;
Out the Quarterly—i-wo to the author who
presumes to think as lie pleases on the sub
ject of England, or who defies by name
the Quarterly Review, and speaks disrespect
fully of English button makers, and Cossark
pantaloons. The offence cannot be forgiven
—and wo have no doubt but that the review-
wlicn ho comes to notice these letters,
will compare the temerity of the author
provoking the attack, to that of the ingeni
ous Irish gentleman who undertook to stop
the explosion of a cannon with his wig.
\t 1 received a letter from you, da
ted almost a montli ago, which I must answer
forthwith; In the first place you accuse me
if hostility to English people add English
literature, because I belivc, I hope with be
coming feeling, of the unceasing attcmpls of
a great number of British writers, to injure
the reputation of oar countrymen and gov
ernment in the eyes Of the world. I dis
claim the imputation of any other but defen
sive hostility; at the same time* I assure
you, I am neither ashamed of feeling indig
nant at their calumnies, nor afraid of express
ing my indignation. Whether abuse of the
peoplo of this country, its manners, morals,
and literature, Is a popular subject or not;
or whether it assure;* to the calumniator the
patronage of government, I am not able to
say; but certain it is, that there is hardly a
newspaper or political pamphlet, published
in that country* favorable to the ministerial
side, that docs not in some part of it contain
a repetition of splcntic effusions against us.
If the Rreviewers get hold of an American
publication, it is made use of merely as
pretext to calumniate us in some way or
other ; and one of the most celebrated of the
Reviews seems to have been established for
hardly any other purpose, than to libel Amc-
• Sc£ tlie review of Frankin'* private cerrespoinlcncf
in the Edinburgh Kevicw.
rica and France. It is called the Quarterly
Review, and being rather an obscure* con
temptible kind Of Billingsgate production,
would hardly merit attention, were it not for
its propensity to general and indiscriminate
abuse of tiny body the ministers dislike.-^
in times less enlightened than the present,
political satire and abuse were generally con
fined to newspapers and pamphlets, and tin-
title of the article corresponded with the sub--
jert. It is the peculiar boast of this age,
that criticism should have been enlisted into
the service of party, and that a critic can,
now snugly vent his spleen Upon a whole peo
ple, or party, in reviewing a hook* which
has nothing to do with the subject. What
is perhaps still more extraordinary, many
of the most enlightened people of this coun
try, do actually pay attention to the judg
ment of these impartial critics, and not tm-
frcquently make up their minds, as to the
merits of a book, on the decision of these
competent judges. Don’t mistake me, in-
supposing that I mean to say, their deci
sions arc never founded on the real merits of
a book; I will do tltein the justice to say,
that if they have no particular antipathy to
an author—if the subject of his work does
not in the remotest degree affect the ministry,
ir go to advocate the abolition of tlie office'
if inspector-general of pipes—if, in short,
the work has nothing to do with the favorite
ipiuionsof the Reviewers—it is just as like-,
ly as not, that he will give a tolerable judg
ment ; provided lie don’t forget the book al
together* in tlie pleasure of bearing himself
abuse tlie Americans.
‘ Great. Britain, as well as the more en
lightened portion of this country* is now rent
and divided into two great factions, mar
shalled under the banners of the two great
Reviewers, one carrying tho sway over
Scotland, the otlirr over England and Wales
—the first soinc/imes mistaken, but willing
to retract; vide, lord Byron ; the latter al
ways trnacious in opinion* especially when
lie is in file wrortg, and only fo be deterred
from the repetition of old calumnies, by the
refreshing temptation of new ones.
‘ This gentleman was once a cabin-boy in
i Newcastle collier ; and I should disdain l<:
mention this to his disparagement, had not
he deserted his cast, and become an enemy
snd calumniator of the very class of people
from whence he derived his birth, ever since
he became siiperiutcrtdantof pipes, and wrote
squire to his name. There was lately in
A——■ a sea captain under whom the Re
viewer served his apprenticeship, who told
vcrhl amusing anecdotes >.f this little fel
low* Among other matters Iro mentioned his
pertinacity, in sticking to a calumny, when
once lie had given it utterance, and the in
vincible obstinacy with which he resisted the
application of a rope’s end, which was gen
erally employed to get tho truth out of him.
l'lic honest captain moreover averred, that
he was the ugliest, snarling, captious, trou
blesome little cabin boy ho ever had in his
ship ; and that his ungovernable hostility to
the Americans, arose from his having once
been terribly Hogged by a Yankee sailor at
Wapping.
• To award that justice he has fiever
warded us, I will do him tlie credit to say,
that amid ail tho disadvantages of His sit
uation. he managed to cultivate learning,
insomuch that he at length gained (lie notice
of some munificent gentleman who sent him
to tlie university, where he excited attention,
not so much for being a great scholar* as be
ing a great scholar considering lie was bro’t
up a cabin boy.
‘’Among those who were smitten with dnli
do r at such a phenomenon, was carl Gros-
venor, a nobleman who, being immensely
rich* had little occasion for any extraordina
ry portion of understanding. It struck his
lordly capacity, that it was a most wonder,
ful thing for a man, who was neither a lord
nor a gentleman born, to have either com
mon sense or common feeling. So he took
him under his protection* brought him into
notice,fjjnd'continued his patron to the end
of his life. The moment he got artfong lords,
he began to assume all tlie airs of a mail of
high aristocratic birth, tacked esquire to his
name, and on all occasions expressed his ut
ter contempt for democrats and common peo
ple. This is ever the case with men of low
and grovelling minds, who ar«5 continually
reminding us of their former insignificance,
by thoir ill-bred arrogance when fortune
smiles. He Wrote a poem, now gone down
to oblivion ; one of those productions which
acquire celebrity, not from their own merits,
but the demerits of those they aro aimed nt.
It gave the finishing blow to the miserable
Della Cruscans however, and the embryo
Reviewer strutted about in triumph, like > a
little school boy, when he has made the frogs
duck their heads and bo quiet, by throwing
a pebble in a pond; or more appropriately
like Don Quixote when he had utterly dis-
comfitted the wood clad host of Trapoban
About this time lie made a furious attack on
the French revolution, while presiding over
part of “moonshine.” to Mr. Canning, tho
sun, by whose reflected light lie shone. Tho
next time lie came before the public, was as
the translator of Juvenal. Iu order to make
room for this, he began by finding fault with
all preceding translatorsj being, I suppose,
resolved to raise his own work by bringing
others below its level. The harsh and over.*
wcaning arrogance of this preface, was wor
thy the editor of the Quarterly Review,
which, if I mistake not, praised it, either
from a fellow feeling arising from similarity
of character* or because the translator of
Juvenal was at that time editor of the Re
view. The world hits probably forgo I ten
these circumstances ; for it is a peculiarity
of this writer* that whatever he docs, after
having provoked a temporary indignation or
contempt, sinks quietly into oblivion, or is
only brought into notjee by. some more hein
ous misdemeanor. He resembles a convict*
whose petty rogueries are only brought to
light by more serious offences, which at last
bring him to the halter, where they all come
out in iiis last dying speech. \
Since this fortunate, or rather unforta-
natc gentleman, lias become the high p; '-R •
if public opinion in England* the insp.-, >r
general of tobacco pipes, he has attra . d
the attention of the peoplo of this con at ,
pretty much in the same way. His • »
would probably never have been hen \
this wide western hemisphere, and cei . . y
never would have been honored by tin - :-
tempt of a great majority of the Ameer,
who have chanced to hear of him* had h . -. t,
as it were forced himsClf into ournoa-e. [mo
a little irritable cur, by following us ro.iml,
barking and biting our heels, until w .-,<re
tempted to tern und kick the puppy, f >r *s
obtrusive impertinence and persevering id
nature. Every thing written by this dough
ty esquire is marked by the charactcristi s of
his early vulgar associations ; his reprehen
sions are vulgar abuse ; bis wit is of the terns
forecastle smack ; his satire, is calumny : bis
humor of the genuine coal heaver stamp, ’.nil
his criticism partakes of that coarse ha.di-
ness, which almost always distinguishes a
low man, raised by fortune rather than . it-
fit, to a height he neither sustains In his
dignity nor adorns by his modest worth.’
Sonic of the author’s portraits remind r(s
of Steele's Papers in the Spectator. They
lisplay similar capacity of discrimination,
and a talent for portraying character more
chaste than is common amongst us.
“ Tho city of Richmond deserves to have
a song written about it, as well as Rirli-
moud-lull, where lived a lass, in England ;
and were I a poet, it should not lie without
it twenty‘•four hours. It is beautifully situ
ated, just on the line of division betwren tin
region of sca-smnd, and of river alluvions,
and at the foot of James River rapids* A*
hove, the river foams and roars among tim
rocks ; below, it winds gently and qui* !iy
through a sweet landscape of meadows, and
golden harvest fields. It was once, and un
til lately, inhabited principally by a race, of
most ancient and respectable planters, hav
ing estates in the country, who chose it fop
their residence for the sake of social cn, y-
ment. They formed a society, which, I ant
sorry to say* is now seldom to be met with
in any of our cities: I mean a society of
people* not exclusively monopolized by mo
ney-making pursuits, but of liberal educa
tion, liberal habits of thinking and acting,
und possessing botii leisure and inclination
to cultivate those feelings, and pursue those
objects, which exalt our nature, rather than
incl'ease our fortune. I am however one of
those who, like honest Candidc, think all
things happen for the best, and that this is
the best of all possible worlds. 1 therefore
don’t actually quarrel with the money-get
ting spirit that pervades all our great cities,
to the utter exclusion of the encouragement
of literature, except so far as it is necessary
to pen an advertisement. It makes men rich,
if not liberal and enlightened : and in places
where wealth is synonymous with virtue and
intellect* it m?.y, for aught I know, answer
in lieu or both. I shall never forget how
the good alderman, your father, dropt his
knife and fork, one. day, when I asserted at
his table, that , the great merchant, who
was actually president of a bank, and had
the credit of being worth millions, was, in
feeling, intellect and action, no better than a
pedlar. The alderman looked at me as if I
liad abused general Washington or the Bi
ble ; and I have never sat at the good man’s
tabic since. But without exactly quarrel
ling with that sordid disposition, or that os
tentatious, yet vulgar profusion, which iu
general actuates the people of our great cit
ies, to the exclusion of every nobler pursuit,
and all rational economy ; still I may ven
ture to lament its universality. In days of
yore, I’lutus, although he shone in gold and
precious stones, hid himself in the bowels of
the earth ; but now' he is seen clothed in rag
ged bank-notes, taking precedence every
where in the city drawing-rooms. There is
now no place where a knot of harmless pco-
: he Autijncobin Review, where lie played the 1 pie of moderate fortune can sit down in tho
